Features

Saturday, December 4, is the last Wimberley Market Day for 2021. For the most part, Central Texas weather has been a fair friend to the volunteers, vendors and visitors at Lions Field. With the current year soon to be in the rear-view mirror, members of the Wimberley Lions Club give thanks for the successful fund-raising campaign which will benefit many in 2022. For forlorn fans of WMD, here is a little holiday message (to the tune of “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”):

The Wimberley community is deservedly known for giving back and helping its friends and neighbors with a wide range of needs. That spirit of service is perfectly embodied by Wimberley High School sophomore Isabella Franchione and her free book program - Chapter One.

Ferdinand Lindheimer (1753-1815) is known as the Father of Texas Botany. Lindheimer, born in Germany, arrived at the San Jacinto battlefield the day after the final battle of the Texas Revolution. During the late 1830s and early 1840s he collected botanical specimens in Texas. He is credited with collecting 1,500 species in south Texas and discovering several hundred species. Over 40 species and subspecies bear his name. Lindheimer made his home in New Braunfels where he was granted land on the Comal River

Tom Mula’s play, Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol, opens on the Wimberley Players stage November 26 and runs through December 12.

Don Hauk is looking for a few good runners.

The Hill Country Community Band will present their free Fall concert on Saturday, November 20, at 2:00 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in Wimberley. The concert’s theme is “Earth, Sky, and Space”. Speaking on behalf of the group of musical volunteers, Pat Ricks is the current HCCB President as well as a flautist in the band.

With the cooler mornings the rose flowers are improving their form. The heat of August and September reduced their production and made smaller blooms but now we are having a flush of full pretty roses.

For the second year in a row, the Wimberley Players is providing the opportunity to adopt baby elephants during their annual fundraising auction that runs Nov. 10 - Nov. 24 at wimberleyplayers.org. Orphaned by drought, illegal poaching, and conflicts with humans, baby elephants are mainly rescued from the Tsavo East region of Kenya. Rescued orphans become wards of the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust which developed the most successful adoption program on the planet. Through trial and error, Daphne Sheldrick discovered substitutes for mother’s milk, learned the complex emotional and developmental needs of the species, and innovated a program to rescue them from extinction. Babies are so traumatized by the loss of their mothers that a human keeper is assigned to each one for years. Keepers wrap the infant in a blanket and stay with them day and night for many months until they can be integrated into a small group. Once a group is accepted, the maturing youngster finds his or her place in a small herd of older peers. In time, the young adults are released into the wild under the watchful eye of the Trust’s trained team of wardens who work assiduously to protect the animals after release. Orphaned baby giraffes, hippos and black and white rhinos also come into their care.

A really nice plant for your yard that many of you might not be familiar with is American Beauty Berry (Callicarpa americana). Beauty Berry is a wonderful, native small shrub three to five feet tall and about as wide, that grows in shade which makes it a good understory choice. Its branches are loose, long, very graceful and arching. It shows off in the fall and early winter. . Some may know this plant as French Mulberry.

Things change, there’s no denying that, and one more change is coming to Wimberley as Dr. Robert White, DDS, is working towards his retirement after 39 years practicing in town.

The VFW Rodeo grounds were the location for the Taste of Wimberley festival, and the weather, although a bit muggy, was sunny and a great October day to be outside and stroll the grounds. The smells were many and varied, following one distinct smell was hard to do as there were so many tasty offerings.

It was all there. The band playing as a warm-up to the event, the big white tent was there, this year with the sides open. There were video screens, microphones, barbecue, drinks, it was all there. Looking back on last year’s event in the midst of the pandemic seemed like a bad dream. But not tonight. Endless food and adult drinks, with all the proceeds going to charities that stay in the local community. That is what the Knights of Columbus in Wimberley do.

The Wimberley Valley Arts and Cultural Alliance (WVACA) announces the launch of the Robert Moreman Memorial Scholarship Fund (RMMSF). The scholarship is intended to honor Robert’s legacy and provide education funding for creative Wimberley kids. Tax deductible donations are being accepted now. For more info visit wimberleyarts.org/scholarships.